Phantoms To Join New “Atlantic Division”

As we suspected, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms will join a new division for the 2015-2016 AHL season, due to realignment with several teams having moved westward. The big surprise is that Binghamton is no longer in our division. I’m sure we’ll be playing them plenty of times, but it seems like the powers that be in the AHL wanted the New York teams together in the same division: Binghamton, Syracuse, Rochester, Utica, and Albany–to go with the two Eastern Conference Canadian teams, St John’s and Toronto.

The Phantoms probably won’t have to travel to St. Johns any more, but the hike to Portland is long enough. I imagine they’ll still see a couple with Bimmington and perhaps a cross-conference match or two.

To put things in proper perspective, it should be noted that Wilkes-Barre/Scranton averaged 5,708 fans per home game during the 2014/15 AHL season (good for 13th place out of 30 teams) … and Hershey led the entire AHL by averaging 9,791 spectators.

I thought Hershey was a good hockey town with a long tradition of Calder Cup success — only six thousand people to a Friday night game?

Not sure which is more embarrassing : the fact that Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were decisively defeated four games to one by the Manchester Monarchs or the fact that only 2,411 people showed up to the Mohegan Sun Arena for Game Five.

Is that the same fate that awaits the Lehigh Valley Phantoms if they ever make the Calder Cup playoffs — a rink that is less than one-third full? … (Mohegan Sun Arena reportedly holds 8,050 for hockey)

Are AHL teams completely dependent on marketing gimmicks like t-shirt giveaways and other tactics such as “corporate sales” to get people to come to their hockey games?

Or is it just plain time for AAA baseball in northeastern Pennsylvania this time of year?